The Mark

​'How had it happened? Gradually he’d got used to her, been surprised by her. At first he’d resented her, yet bit by bit she had insinuated herself into his life; she was growing on him and he’d begun to think of them as a couple, well not that sort of couple, but these two rudderless souls up against the world.'

Rachel is in a bad way when Jack marks her out. Homeless, alone, desperate for love - she’s easy prey for Adam, the man who claims to be her boyfriend. Jack intervenes and soon they are on the run together, an odd couple both haunted by voices in their heads, both trying to escape the nightmares of their past lives.

​The woods and fields along their road to London provide an unexpected refuge, and Jack starts to believe he can get Rachel to safety, but can he do it before his time runs out?

Totally and utterly gripping. —Carousel​The atmosphere in the book is one of extreme tension that Hayes expertly creates ... I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I would definitely recommend it to others. —The Bookbag

The tension never flags [and] the ending is as surprising as it is brilliant.--The Irish Examiner

Another excellent read from this prolific and diverse author. A real page-turner.--Jane Wilson-Howarth

Fast paced, exciting and thought-provoking. —Book Lover

A nail-biting novel for teen and YA. [Hayes'] characterisation, her skill at telling a story, the economy of her style and its crystal-clear clarity are very much on display here. ​ —Richard Brown

A fast-paced, adrenaline-filled novel ... it was extremely difficult to put down and I would strongly recommend it to anybody who loves thrillers, mysteries or adventure novels. —Miriam Kelly for Gobblefunked

Full Reviews of The Mark

Carousel - Gill Roberts

Jack and Rachel are both on the run from Adam, Rachel's ex-boyfriend and gang-leader. But, escaping from Adam will also enable them to escape from their past lives, which, though unconnected, have obviously left each other scarred. It's a real worry whether Rachel will realistically succeed in recovering from addiction, refocus from self-harming and redirect her life's path. Jack, often in excruciating pain, is driven to protect Rachel by an inexorable force which is sometimes at odds with his personal will. And what is Jack's true identity? From the first page the reader is immediately ensnared in chasing both Jack and Rachel's stories. But, more than anything, the reader is encouraged not to judge and not to give up hope. Totally and utterly gripping.

The story is split into three narratives. The main narrative is a third-person narrative detailing Jack and Rachel's journey, from their initial meeting up until the end of the book. There are also two different first-person narratives by Jack and Rachel, both describing how they came to be in their current positions. It's a very effective and personal way to develop the two characters.

The two main characters, Jack and Rachel are well written. Jack is portrayed as intelligent, resourceful and artistic, while also being able to go completely unnoticed in a crowd. Rachel on the other hand, is portrayed as being illiterate, rebellious, materialistic, and very, VERY needy. She also suffers from some kind of mental illness, as she constantly hears voices in her head, which tell her to do bad things (hence all the trouble she is in). The two of them share troubled pasts which they desperately wish to forget and move on from. The two of them on the run from Adam, Rachel's ex, who got her addicted to drugs and intends to sell her for underage sex, but also has something else in mind as well...

The atmosphere in the book is one of extreme tension that Hayes expertly creates. Jack and Rachel frequently avoid trouble, both with the law and with Rachel's ex-boyfriend Adam. The author manages to create a feeling of intensity through both Rachel's and Jack's thoughts, which are effectively written to enhance this and add a great deal to the pacing of the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I would definitely recommend it to others.

The Mark is a dark thriller entwined with lots of mystery. It follows 14-year-old Rachel, a drug addict on the run from her abusive ex-boyfriend, and Jack, a mysterious 16-year-old with a dark past who is enlisted to help her reach safety.​Rachel is Jack’s mark. He must help her evade her ex-boyfriend Adam and his dangerous gang, who desperately cross the English countryside in pursuit of the two teenagers. At the beginning, the teens escape the city to work on a fruit farm, but Adam’s relentless searching means that Jack and Rachel are forced to move on. With the police on their tails looking for the runaways, outcasts Jack and Rachel must reach London before their time runs out.

The Mark is a fast-paced, adrenaline-filled novel by author Rosemary Hayes. This story deals with many sensitive issues suffered in modern day society including depression and drugs, which is why I would strongly recommend this book for older readers. Through vivid flashbacks, the author creates a strong image of the difficult pasts of Jack and Rachel whilst also depicting their present lives.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book because there was never a boring moment and it was extremely difficult to put down. I was left screaming for joy and recoiling in shock throughout and I would strongly recommend it to anybody who loves thrillers, mysteries or adventure novels.

Jack has been sent to find his next "mark" - who they are or why he's been sent is not something he knows. He doesn't even know who his last mark was but he will know them when he finds them. When he finds them it will be a quick "in and out" and he will move on to his next.

When he finds Rachel it turns out that she's his mark but Jack for some reason finds he can't just do his job and get out like he normally does. There is something about her naivety that Jack feels a need to help her. She is in danger and she doesn't know it.

Jack and Rachel go on the run for their lives and a dependence upon each other flourishes into much more - too much more.

A Young Adult book also suitable for teenagers I found this book to be compelling to say the very least. The reader starts in some confusion, which (coincidentally) is also how we find Jack. How can he know his mark on sight? What is he to do when he meets the mark? Who is he and who is he working for? Yet when we reach the end of this story the ending is just so right and so wrong in so many ways. Yes, we start to get an idea how it will end quite a way before the last chapter and that makes it all the more painful. The story has progressed from a thriller to a thriller with a strong love story element and you want it to end well for the couple - but you know it can't so can anything be salvaged for either of them?

The cover of this book gives nothing away about the story "Two teenagers on the run from their past"... doesn't that sum up so many YA or teen books? But I found I was totally blown away by this one.

I don't really care how you get hold of a copy but find one and read it - I am sure it will have a huge impact on you too. And get your teenagers to read it - they will enjoy it immensely if nothing else.

Dark areas and redemptive forces: a nail-biting novel for teens and YA.

What a tremendous read this is. It's a fast-paced thriller for teens and YA, one which deals with the issue of child abuse that's very much in the news of late; it's full of insight and humanity. But as the story unfolds it becomes something more than that, something mysterious, even spiritual, turning it into a modern morality tale that lifts it above the common run. Rosemary Hayes creates a contemporary world that's full of dangers for young people, especially those who have been rejected by family for one reason or another. It is full of people who are only interested in exploiting them, not caring if they destroy them; and yet she shows that there are good people everywhere too, ready to rescue and protect them. If this makes it sound too serious or polemical, it's not: once you pick up this intense and exciting story of the haunted and the hunted you won't be able to put it down until you reach the consoling but unsentimental ending.

Reflecting on the story, we see that at one level it is a study of two very damaged young people who have learnt not just to distrust others but, more fundamentally, themselves, who learn to form a relationship which crucially involves looking out for others and never letting them down. It's one of life's crucial lessons.

I've read many of Rosemary Hayes's novels; this is up there with the best of them. Her characterisation, her skill at telling a story, the economy of her style, its crystal-clear clarity, her humanity and sympathy for the outcast and the marginalised, above all her willingness to enter dark areas of young people's experience and show where redemptive forces might lie, are very much on display here. Once again she's written a wonderfully engaging novel. Not to be missed.